The Junking Trrashformation Journey

Christmas

I’m not too far out of season with these vintage porch spindle snowmen. Actually, if you consider we are just getting into the snowy, snowman building time of the year, I am right on time.

These snowmen started out as a box of dirty porch spindles my husband found at a garage sale for $4. He had a feeling I could come up with a project for them. 😉

After cleaning them I gave them all a dry-brushed coat of white paint. They still looked pretty rough, but they were starting to show some character.

A little bit of paint for the faces…

And a few painted buttoned down the front brought these men to life.

The hats were made with rectangles of black felt that were tied on top and folded into a cuff on the bottom. This picture kinda sucks. Sorry about that. To get the detail of the black to show up I had to lighten up the background quite a bit. It’s kinda blinding.

Old sweaters cut into strips provided the scarves for the snowmen to finish.

Whew!! The last couple of months have been a whirlwind of craft shows and craft show prep. Thankfully, I only have one small show left.

These signs have turned out to be great sellers this year. Seriously, it has been wash, rinse, repeat for weeks. Maybe I sold them too cheaply, but since this particular batch of wood was a rescue, my time making them was really the only expense. I just couldn’t reconcile charging more. I hope all my customers enjoy their purchase.

Do you still have an unfinished gift list? Are you running short on cash? Think you have no time to make anything in time for Christmas? This project or multiples of this project can be completed in less than an hour.

I used scraps of aspen branches I have been toting around since we moved to Kansas in 2000. Seriously, what took me so long to do this? The length can be anything you want. The ones I used ranged between 4″-6″. Don’t have aspen? No problem. You can use any branches you have available or fence post scraps. Really. As long as it is a block of wood…you are golden.

You need a 1 1/2″ paddle drill bit. If you don’t have one, ask friends or neighbors before heading to the store. No sense paying for a bit you may only use one time.

Center the bit on one cut end of your “block” and drill to a 3/4″ depth. Spoiler Alert: To be honest, the bottoms of my drilled holes were a bit uneven. I chose not to worry about it. You shouldn’t either, because they won’t be noticeable.

Center, wrap and hot glue whatever ribbon you desire around the block. Wrap jute over the top of the ribbon about four times. Knot and fasten off. Alternatives to ribbon could be strips of ripped fabric, a strip of wrapping paper, scrap book paper or a cut strip from an old pair of jeans. Alternatives to jute could be yarn, string, wire, a shoelace or a thin ripped strip of fabric or thin ribbon.

The things used in this project, thus far, are things you probably already have or can borrow. The next item is the only thing I actually had to buy. The battery operated tea lights. They come two to a package at the Dollar Tree, so your total expense for a set of two candle holders could potentially be only $1. Insert them in the drilled holes and you are done.

I love the way they turned out. These were made for gifts, but after Christmas I am making a set for me.

Row 4: Ch 1, sc in first st, 7 dc (cluster) in ch 2 space. *sc in the space between the next two dc pairs. Cluster in the next ch 2 space.* Repeat between ** to the end of the row. Sc in top of last dc.

Do not turn. Working across the row ends, evenly space 18 sc. Turn. Line up the edge just stitched with the edge of the pouch. Sl st 18 sts on the edge of the doily flap to 18 sts on the pouch edge.

Handle:

Using Aran, ch 40, turn.

Round 1: Sc in the second ch from the hook and in each of the next 37 chs, 3 sc in the last ch (the end). Working up the other side of the ch, sc in 38 chs and 3 sc in the end. Sl st to first sc of the round.

Round 2: *Ch 2, sk one st, sl st in the next.* Repeat between ** around. Sl st to the base of the first ch 2 of the round.

Round 3: Sc, hdc in the next st, work 3 dc in next st, hdc,sc in the next st, sl st in sl st from previous row,* repeat between ** around. (5 petals)

Fasten off and weave in the ends.

Assembly:

Place 1 inch on one end of the handle over the pouch edge on one side of the flap. Using the Aran yarn and a yarn needle, stitch the end to the pouch. Repeat on the other side of the flap with the remaining end of the handle. Using the Pretty n’ Pink yarn, stitch a 1/2-inch flat white button over the handle ends.

Fold the flap to the front of the purse. Position the flower to the right of the flap’s center. Place a 1/2-inch flat white button in the center of the flower. Use Pretty n’ Pink yarn and a yarn needle to stitch the button and flower to the flap.

Open the flap. With the front of the purse facing front, center and stitch a 1/2-inch flat white button to the sixth row from the top edge of the pouch using Pretty n’ Pink. Fold the flap to the front and insert the button through the hole of the center cluster on the last row of the doily flap to close the purse.

A lot of times when I have a new assignment I don’t have all the items I need. I have to decide on whether it is more economical to purchase things I need or pass on the assignment. Usually I send out requests to local Facebook friends, but most of those things are borrowed for photos and measurements and can be returned in the same condition. The shells for these projects were a different story. You know what they say, as soon as you get rid of something you will need it. That was the issue here so…off I went to Walmart to see if a bag of shells would cause me to pass on the article.

There was a lady in the same aisle as I was looking at the shells and trying to make my decision. Out of the blue she said she had a bag of shells at home I could have if I wanted them. She didn’t know me and had no idea what I was going to do with them, but she made my day with her random act of kindness. We exchanged phone numbers and she gave me her address. I know, right? She gave me (a stranger) her address without knowing a thing about me. We arranged a time later that day for me to pick them up. Meanwhile, when she got home she took pics of the shells and sent them to me to make sure they were what I wanted. This lady was so sweet on so many levels. They were fabulous! Of course I picked them up and used them. Since that day I have been on the look out for a pay-it-forward of my own. I haven’t come across the perfect opportunity yet, but I will.

After all the horrible stories I am constantly seeing on the news, the complete randomness of this kind act has renewed my faith in humanity. Thank you again, Dawn!